In this short video on Channel 9, I talk with CTO Bob Janssen about how and why they company offers both SQL Azure and SQL Server storage options for their customers.

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About SQL Azure

Microsoft SQL Azure Database is a cloud-based relational database service built on SQL Server® technologies. It provides a highly available, scalable, multi-tenant database service hosted by Microsoft in the cloud. SQL Azure Database helps to ease provisioning and deployment of multiple databases. Developers do not have to install, setup, patch or manage any software. High availability and fault tolerance is built-in and no physical administration is required. SQL Azure Database supports Transact-SQL (T-SQL). Customers can use existing knowledge in T-SQL development and a familiar relational data model for symmetry with existing on-premises databases. SQL Azure Database can help reduce costs by integrating with existing toolsets and providing symmetry with on-premises and cloud databases.

To write applications for SQL Azure, you can use any of the Microsoft .NET Framework programming languages: Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C#, or Microsoft Visual C++. You can also use the ADO.NET data provider for SQL Server, the SQL Server 2008 Native Client ODBC driver, and the SQL Server 2008 Driver for PHP version 1.1. In addition, SQL Azure allows developers to use a subset of the SQL Server existing query language Transact-SQL to query a database and to insert, update, and delete data in tables in a database.

SQL Azure Getting Started

Download the Windows Azure Platform Training KitThe Windows Azure platform Training Kit includes a comprehensive set of technical content including samples, demos, hands-on labs, and presentations that are designed to help you learn how to use the Windows Azure platform. These labs cover Windows Azure, Service Bus and Access Control, SQL Azure, and Live Services